At the end of July Sussex held their Over 50s Doubles Championships and the winners were David Alfred & Rohan Bedford who defeated Tony Mann & Jeff Mitchell in the final. This made both teams eligible to represent Sussex at the EPA Over 50s Champions of Champions. This was held on Sunday 25th September at Hanbury PC in Essex at a quite stunning location to play pétanque. Overall there were 16 teams from 11 of the EPA regions and the morning consisted of 4 leagues of 4 teams with teams from the same region separated.
David & Rohan’s opening game was against the Isle of Wight team who they defeated 13-7 having trailed 0-5. Tony & Jeff’s opening game was against the Southern Region 2 team and their strong practice form deserted them as they struggled at times to earn a 13-10 win.
In the second game David & Rohan played the very experienced Angie & Lee Jamieson from Kent in a close encounter. Both teams had opportunities to build a lead but failed to capitalise and eventually David & Rohan succumbed to a 10-13 defeat. Tony & Jeff however beat the Anglian 2 team 13-0 but this was a case of where the score did not reflect how well Luisa & Les from Anglia actually played.
So it was essential for David & Rohan to win their third game to qualify for the afternoon’s main competition and they did just that by beating the Great Western team 13-5 to finish 2nd in the group. Tony & Jeff knew they had already qualified for the main but defeated the East Midlands 1 team 13-2 winning the group and also securing the number one seeding for the afternoon.
In the Main Quarter Finals David & Rohan were drawn against the Anglia 1 team and despatched them with a 13-5 win. Tony & Jeff played the Eastern 2 team and found themselves 0-7 down having not played at all badly but events going against them. They soon rallied though and came back to win 13-10.
Both Sussex teams avoided each other in the Semi-Final draw and David & Rohan played against the Anglia 2 team. Anglia built up an early lead before David & Rohan came back in what developed to be a very tight and long game. The final end saw Rohan shooting with the last boule and getting a carreau for game winning 13-11. Tony & Jeff were drawn against Angie & Lee from Kent in another tight and long game, not helped by some slow play by the Jamieson’s which earned them a warning from the umpire. At one stage the Jamieson’s had an opportunity to win the game if they had successfully moved the jack back but despite 3 attempts by Lee they did not achieve this and Tony & Jeff were mightily relieved to be still in the game. Tony & Jeff then finally saw off the match winning 13-10 to create an all Sussex final which absolutely no one would have predicted.
The final was played in a great spirit with both teams commending each other’s good play and of course in the knowledge that whatever happened it was going to be a great result for our region. David & Rohan started well but in the 3rd end of play a carreau from Jeff and strong follow up pointing by both players earned them 5 points and established a lead that they never surrendered. Tony & Jeff went on to win 13-7 and proved to be very popular winners with many of the teams participating and in particular with the teams they had defeated on route to the final.
It was a fantastic day for our Sussex Region with all four players proud to be representing Sussex, being great ambassadors for our region and making many friends during the day.
(thanks to Tony Mann for the above report and photos below)
David & Rohan’s opening game was against the Isle of Wight team who they defeated 13-7 having trailed 0-5. Tony & Jeff’s opening game was against the Southern Region 2 team and their strong practice form deserted them as they struggled at times to earn a 13-10 win.
In the second game David & Rohan played the very experienced Angie & Lee Jamieson from Kent in a close encounter. Both teams had opportunities to build a lead but failed to capitalise and eventually David & Rohan succumbed to a 10-13 defeat. Tony & Jeff however beat the Anglian 2 team 13-0 but this was a case of where the score did not reflect how well Luisa & Les from Anglia actually played.
So it was essential for David & Rohan to win their third game to qualify for the afternoon’s main competition and they did just that by beating the Great Western team 13-5 to finish 2nd in the group. Tony & Jeff knew they had already qualified for the main but defeated the East Midlands 1 team 13-2 winning the group and also securing the number one seeding for the afternoon.
In the Main Quarter Finals David & Rohan were drawn against the Anglia 1 team and despatched them with a 13-5 win. Tony & Jeff played the Eastern 2 team and found themselves 0-7 down having not played at all badly but events going against them. They soon rallied though and came back to win 13-10.
Both Sussex teams avoided each other in the Semi-Final draw and David & Rohan played against the Anglia 2 team. Anglia built up an early lead before David & Rohan came back in what developed to be a very tight and long game. The final end saw Rohan shooting with the last boule and getting a carreau for game winning 13-11. Tony & Jeff were drawn against Angie & Lee from Kent in another tight and long game, not helped by some slow play by the Jamieson’s which earned them a warning from the umpire. At one stage the Jamieson’s had an opportunity to win the game if they had successfully moved the jack back but despite 3 attempts by Lee they did not achieve this and Tony & Jeff were mightily relieved to be still in the game. Tony & Jeff then finally saw off the match winning 13-10 to create an all Sussex final which absolutely no one would have predicted.
The final was played in a great spirit with both teams commending each other’s good play and of course in the knowledge that whatever happened it was going to be a great result for our region. David & Rohan started well but in the 3rd end of play a carreau from Jeff and strong follow up pointing by both players earned them 5 points and established a lead that they never surrendered. Tony & Jeff went on to win 13-7 and proved to be very popular winners with many of the teams participating and in particular with the teams they had defeated on route to the final.
It was a fantastic day for our Sussex Region with all four players proud to be representing Sussex, being great ambassadors for our region and making many friends during the day.
(thanks to Tony Mann for the above report and photos below)
2016 EPA Over 50's Doubles Champion of Champions Winners: Jeff Mitchell & Tony Mann
An all Sussex final between Rohan Bedford & David Alfred and winners Jeff Mitchell & Tony Mann
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